Acres of Skin
Acres of Skin
Acres of Skin (pronunciation: Ak-res of Skin) is a term that has its roots in the medical and ethical fields. It refers to a controversial period in medical history where prison inmates were used for dermatological research. The phrase was popularized by Allen M. Hornblum's book, Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison, a comprehensive account of the medical experiments conducted on prison inmates at Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia from 1951 to 1974.
Etymology
The term "Acres of Skin" is derived from the words of dermatologist Albert M. Kligman, who saw the prison population as a vast resource for medical research, describing the inmates as "acres of skin". This phrase has since been used to symbolize the ethical issues surrounding the use of vulnerable populations in medical research.
Related Terms
- Medical Ethics: The field of applied ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research.
- Human Experimentation: The act of testing scientific principles on human beings.
- Holmesburg Prison: A defunct prison in Philadelphia where the controversial dermatological experiments were conducted.
- Albert M. Kligman: The dermatologist who conducted the experiments at Holmesburg Prison.
- Dermatology: The branch of medicine dealing with the skin, nails, hair and its diseases.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Acres of Skin
- Wikipedia's article - Acres of Skin
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